No rally this time as Vanderbilt crushes South Carolina and Adam Hill to even series
For the third consecutive SEC game, South Carolina baseball found itself in a deep hole early, needing a dramatic comeback.
But on Saturday, the magic ran out for the Gamecocks, as they fell to Vanderbilt, 8-1, knotting the series between the teams and setting up a rubber match Sunday.
USC (25-18, 10-10 SEC) cracked the scoreboard for the only time all game in the first inning, as sophomore left fielder Carlos Cortes blasted a long, high shot into the right-field bleachers to give coach Mark Kingston's team a 1-0 lead. Cortes leads the Gamecocks with 11 home runs this season.
"We hit the home run, so we felt like another good day, but it just wasn't there for us," Kingston told John Whittle of The Big Spur.
Junior ace Adam Hill breezed through a 1-2-3 first inning, needing just eight pitches to record three outs. In the second inning, however, he ran into trouble.
Vanderbilt drew a leadoff walk, then pounded two singles to tie the game up. Another walk from Hill loaded the bases, and the Commodores followed with back-to-back singles to drive in three more runs. Three batters later, another RBI single pushed two more runs across the plate, making it 6-1.
The six-run outburst forced Hill to throw 44 pitches just to escape the frame, facing 11 batters.
"He just wasn't sharp," Kingston said. "Left a lot of balls up, especially in that inning where he gave up all the runs. Just wasn't sharp, didn't get ahead of hitters."
After that, Hill settled down somewhat, making it into the fifth inning with no further damage before being pulled for junior reliever Ridge Chapman. Vanderbilt responded with two patient at-bats that took Chapman 15 pitches to get through, ending with a two-run home run to right field, making it 8-1.
THREE POINTS
Star of the game: Carlos Cortes, who accounted for USC's only run, added a walk and a long fly ball to right-center that could have been extra bases if not for an impressive leaping grab by Vanderbilt center fielder Alonzo Jones against the wall.
Play of the game: Junior first baseman Julian Infante's two-run single with the bases loaded in the second inning was as big a hit as Vandy got in its six-run bonanza. It stretched the Commodores' lead to 4-1, a major step toward putting the game away.
Stat of the game: 3-16 hitting for South Carolina with runners on base. If you're looking to rally from seven runs down for the second consecutive game, that won't cut it.
OBSERVATIONS
One bad inning, seven solid ones: Put aside Adam Hill's truly disastrous second inning, and South Carolina's pitching was fairly solid for most of the afternoon, thanks in large part to junior reliever Ridge Chapman, who had two 1-2-3 innings. The combined final stat line excluding the second was seven innings, two runs, three hits and no walks.
Equal hits, unequal results: Vanderbilt collected the same amount of hits and just one more baserunner than South Carolina on Saturday. But while the Gamecocks stranded nine runners, the Commodores left just three, pounding out a lot of small ball — eight of their nine hits were singles.
"Both teams had the same amount of hits, and we didn't walk that many," Kingston told Collyn Taylor of Gamecock Central. "They just got the big hits when they had the opportunity, and we did not."
NEXT
Who: South Carolina (25-18, 10-10 SEC) vs. Vanderbilt (25-17, 11-9 SEC)
When: 2 p.m. eastern Sunday, April 29
Where: Hawkins Field, Nashville, Tennessee
Watch: Streaming online on SEC Network Plus via WatchESPN
Listen: 107.5 FM
Probable pitchers: South Carolina — So. RHP Cody Morris (6-3, 4.18 ERA); Vanderbilt — Fr. RHP Mason Hickman (7-1, 3.69 ERA)
This story was originally published April 28, 2018 at 6:10 PM with the headline "No rally this time as Vanderbilt crushes South Carolina and Adam Hill to even series."